CRIMINALISATION OF

CHILD MARRIAGE
PARLIAMENT DEBATE SUMMARY:
Prepared by Yemurai Nyoni (4/2/2015)

THE MOTION
CRIMINALISATION OF CHILD MARRIAGE

CALLS UPON
GOVERNMENT TO:
Urgently review existing legislation and come up
with stringent penalties to address child
marriage.
Roll out programmes aimed at assisting victims of
child marriages
Immediately develop educational programmes to
raise awareness on the ills of child marriages.
Commission a research in all the countrys ten
provinces to determine the magnitude of the
scourge of child marriage in the country.

WHAT MPS HAVE SAID:

ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE IN ZIMBABWE

ISSUES
Adoption of Western Culture into our own
Contradiction of laws
Members of Parliament as Sugar Daddies and
hypocrites who do what they speak against.
Children engaged in sex work in the Avenues.
No perpetrators of child marriage have been
brought to book to date.
Male children are being forced into marriages and
are getting married to elderly women.

ISSUES
Organizations working on child marriage invite
female MPs and leave out male MPs.
Child marriage driven by poverty in areas such as
Chikwarakwara.
Girls forced to marry brothers-in-law to inherit their
sisters wealth.
Parents giving children up to traditional healers as a
way of exorcising spirits.
Child marriage is rife in areas such as Mutoko and
Dendera.

ISSUES
Early pregnancy, linked to child marriage is leading to
abortions.
Men are in polygamous relationships, often with
children.
Irresponsible reporting by journalists that doesnt
focus on the main issue of child marriage (Budiriro
intervention by police which was reported mainly
regarding the beating up of police and not the
rampant child marriages in that apostolic sect).
Girls are dying from the complications of pregnancy
and child birth.

ISSUES
Traditional leaders take children as wives.
Children are lured into marriage by church leaders.
Chiefs have taken a stance against child marriages.
Children who become pregnant are not allowed to
go to hospital because of fear that the responsible
man will be arrested (e.g. Mt. Darwin)
Offenders engage lawyers and are let off the hook
or is given a light sentence.

ISSUES
Child marriage and teenage pregnancy are
contributing to the increase in the number of
children living on the streets, as their young
mothers die and leave them as orphans.
When child marriage cases are taken to court,
they take a while to to be processed and are
eventually struck of the register.
Traumatized children who are married at an early
age end up becoming mentally disturbed.
Men rape their biological children.

ISSUES
Children who are raped are forced into early
marriages to protect the offenders.
Mothers of girls who are forced into marriage are
unaware of the full impacts of child marriage.
There are churches which condone child
marriage, especially Apostolic sects.
Girls are eating foods which make their bodies
mature faster and men begin to think they are
grown up when they are still girls.

ISSUES
Children are being exposed to pornography often
in the presence of their parents.
Girls on the streets are experiencing sexual abuse.
Girls in gold-panning communities are vulnerable
to sexual abuse and being married early.
Girls education is not receiving the same priority
as boys education in decisions made in the home.
A underage boy who marries an underage girl
should be punished.

ISSUES
The Childrens Parliament are debating
important issues but nothing is being done
about these issues.
Children are exposed to bad information
through Information and Communication
Technologies which encourages early sexual
behavior.
Zimbabwe is signatory to many conventions
that speak against child marriage but hasnt
taken strong steps to curb the practice.

ISSUES
Myths about curing HIV through sleeping with
minors are contributing to child marriage.
Weak laws have made it possible for child
marriages to take place.
Child brides are being subjected to domestic
violence.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Record all the children who are impregnated.
Arrest perpetrators of child marriage and charge
stiff penalties.
Involve male MPs in workshops to deal with child
marriage.
All who gather for a ceremony of marrying out a
child should be arrested.
Journalists should share information on ending
child marriage.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Chiefs should send scouts to report on child
marriage, and they should take action once
such cases are reported.
Whoever is convicted of raping an underage
girl should not be afforded access to a lawyer.
Government to look into the foods being
consumed by girls at home and in school.
Government to take girls off the streets into
the protective custody of childrens homes.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Pregnant girls to be encouraged to register
their pregnancies as an entry point to follow
up offenders.
The legal age for marriage should be 18 years
for both boys and girls without exception.
All births should registered.
Legislation should allow for whistle-blowing
in reporting of cases of child marriage.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Use the Gender Commission to report issues
of child marriage.
Realign laws and avoid complexities of
conflicting laws.
Pay attention to the recommendations and
issues raised in the Childrens Parliament.
Carry out campaigns in hard-hit areas like
Hurungwe and Binga.

RECOMMENDATIONS
MPs in their different constituencies should
play an active role in advocating for the rights
of children.
The Girls Not Brides campaign to end child
marriage should be spread to various
communities.
Campaigns against child marriage should be
carried out in schools, family set-ups, villages,
universities, colleges and other areas.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Educate young people on how to select media that
is good and on how to avoid pornography.
Childrens rights must be promoted and respected
as the basis for ending child marriage.
Need to change behavior and attitudes about child
marriage beyond the change of laws.
Arrest church leaders who condone child marriage.
Community leaders should be involved in
awareness programmes on child marriage.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Child marriage should be termed as pedophilia
or rape.
Register every marriage including unregistered
customary law unions to order to have a
monitoring mechanism.
Psychosocial support should be availed to all
victims of child marriage who need it.
Shelters and safe havens should be provided to
young girls who are forced into marriage for
protection and counselling.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Conduct a thorough research in all ten provinces
on the magnitude of child marriage.
Government must provide support for child
marriage victims to continue their education.
The Minister responsible for child protection to
come up with a Bill that will create stiffer penalties
for child marriage offenders.
The Law Development Commission should edit the
Article in the constitution that speaks on marriage
to make it clear that one cannot marry a child

RECOMMENDATIONS
Male MPs should make a vow stating that
they shall never be found having sexual
relations with children or marrying children.
The Law should state that if you cannot found
a family when you are 18, then you should
not have sexual intercourse with anybody
who is under the age of 18

WHAT MPs HAVENT

SAID
THE MISSING LINKS

RECOMMENDATIONS
Some recommendations made were based on
misconceptions about what the main drivers of
child marriage are (GMFs).
Not much was said on the role that the
education sector can play in addressing child
marriage given that all children below the age
of 18 are of school going age.
Nothing was said on supporting economic
empowerment initiatives for young mothers
who dont return to school.

WHAT NEXT?
FILLING IN THE GAPS

WAY FORWARD
Build the capacity of MPs on the existing
statistics and other trends related to child
marriage in the country for consistency in the
data they use in their advocacy.
Engage MPs to discuss policies to support
young mothers who have dropped out of
school and need income.
Work with MPs to implement some of their
recommendations (e.g. Vow by male MPs to
not engage is sexual activities with minors or
to marry children)

WAY FORWARD
Support existing legal efforts to set up the
Gender Commission and reform legislation
around child marriage.
Increase public awareness of existing issues
of debate in Parliament around child
marriage.
Work with existing champions and platforms
supportive of work to end child marriage
(Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Childrens
Parliament, Jessie Majome, Webster
Maondera, etc.)

WAY FORWARD
Spread the Zimbabwe Girls Not Brides
Movement as recommended.
Invite more male MPs for programmes on
child marriage as recommended by MPs.
Integrate additional recommendations by MPs
into existing programmes addressing child
marriage by different organizations.

LINKS:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/254019744/End-C
hild-Marriage-Motion
http
://www.parlzim.gov.zw/attachments/article/3
0/28_January_2014_41-09.pdf
http
://www.parlzim.gov.zw/attachments/article/3
0/03_February_2015_41-11.
pdf